


Give me breath

by amako



Series: ShikaSakuWeek 2017 [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Dysfunctional People, F/M, Gen, Shikasakuweek, Survivor Guilt, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2017-09-18
Packaged: 2018-12-31 07:31:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12127578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amako/pseuds/amako
Summary: Back in the camp, where the decisions are made, only the legends remain.





	Give me breath

**Author's Note:**

> Written for ShikaSakuWeek: Day one "Duty/Free Will"  
> I'm so excited about this week!

At first, the drums. A rhythmic, heavy sound, echoing in the storm that's been raging for the past two days. It's loud and sickening and it calls to the hearts of the warriors, crawling in the mud and blood of their allies, over their corpses lying on the mines.

Then, it's the singing. It's just as loud, but synchronised in a way that speaks of past battles and habits. It's hard to make out the words over the storm and the drums, but everyone knows them. How it tells the story of the children of Fire, of the land they're dying for. The story of those nameless faces who are going to fall for what they stand for.

The shinobi of old times, when the job still meant stealth and assassination, are legends by now. Those that are still trained like this aren't in the front lines of this war. Now is the time for battle, and it's an army the enemy will see marching. What matters now is how many soldiers the generals are willing to sacrifice, how many losses are acceptable if it means winning the war.

Back in the camp, where the decisions are made, only the legends remain.

 

"That isn't an option, Commander. We need to strike at their heart while the troops act as a distraction."

The sneer of Shikamaru's face would make a weaker man stand down. "And I'm telling you that Konoha won't stand for this. If you still want our help, you'll have to accept that."

"Look at you, with your naive morale and principles! This isn't how you win a war!"

"Raikage-sama, with all due respect, you can go fuck yourself. I'm going to check on my men."

 

Shikamaru marches out of the tent without a glance for the dumbfounded faces of the people around the table. He is seething with anger, his breath shortening as the rage takes over and he _needs_ —

He almost whimpers when a familiar hand slips in his. Shikamaru doesn't need to look to know who joined his steps towards the encampment. Instead, he tightens his hold and focuses on the calloused knuckles and scars he can feel on Sakura's hardened skin.

 

"How did it go?"

"It's a clusterfuck," he mumbles, glad that the men are purposefully not looking in their direction. "A is a bastard who wants to send our people to the slaughter, Otokaze does his best, but he's only been in position for two days, so it's not much. Ao is still unaccounted for, and they have yet to find a replacement for him. Kurotsuchi is okay, I guess, but she doesn't want to stand too firmly on Konoha's side, not after when let her grand-father die to protect Gaara." He snorts. "The good it did us."

"Hey, stop it. We had no way of predicting what was going to happen. For now, they agreed to put Otokaze in his place, so let him prove himself."

Shikamaru sighs. "You're right. I'm too close to this."

"I'm always right," she smirks, but doesn't disagree with his assessment.

 

This war is a mess. After the Fourth and the creation of the Alliance, they all thought they would be done with the fighting for a century or twenty. Of course, the universe disagreed. Shikamaru admits that at least they're not fighting each other this time. But apparently, there is a whole continent on the other side of what they thought was an ocean, and revealed itself to be a mere sea. And the people of this new world would put Kiri's bloodlust and Iwa's warmongering to shame on a bad day.

Suna was the first to fall. Its people found shelter in the Land of Fire, where troops from the Alliance where already gathering. And now, they only have to hold. So far, they're not doing that good of a job. Mei was killed on a raid at the border. Tsunade was in a coma and Kakashi was still missing, so they promoted Shikamaru to Jōnin Commander and acting Hokage, until a better solution presents itself. When Konoha had to make a choice between helping an Iwa an a Suna squad, each protecting a Kage, they went for Gaara. Ōnoki didn't make it, and Gaara sacrificed himself a couple of days ago to protect a civilian camp.

As it is, the Alliance is technically winning. The foreign forces are getting thinner every day and the Alliance medics were far better, allowing for their wounded to come back sooner to the front. But it's hard not to think of it as losing, when the death toll forces Shikamaru to stay awake at night, whispering the names of those that died during the day because of his decisions.

The worst remains to watch his friends losing themselves little by little, exhausted by another war so soon after the last. Most of them are put in positions they never wanted, making decisions that haunt their sleep. Shikamaru will never forget the day Naruto came back, covered in blood and grime, with a child's body over his shoulders. He had yelled franticly for a medic, someone to help the boy, but when a young nurse came to help, they realized the child had been dead for over three days.

And Naruto didn't notice. He was taking life after life with the boy on his shoulders, trying to get back to camp at all cost. That's when they all realized that this is a war, against actual human beings, and not Zetsu clones or mythical creatures from old tales. Naruto's laugh doesn't sound the same anymore.

Shikamaru has been helpless to watch his promotion bloody their hands, hurting the very core of what they are, in order to win. He still can't look Ino in the eyes, and he only manages to stay at Sakura's side because she won't allow him to be a coward and run away from his decisions.

The two women are in charge of the war equivalent of T&I. It's only the two of them, when the Alliance need an information and they can be spared from the battlefield. Sakura is a terrifying force, feared by the opposite side whenever she's spotted in their ranks. Ino puts the nightmares in their enemies' sleep with a smile on her face and a dead look in her eyes.

But outside of the battlefield, they are expert medics who know where to cut to hurt the most, and where to press to make people talk. So they torture, and they interrogate, and they give the Alliance the information they need when they ask for it. And after that, Shikamaru collects the pieces and watches them wither away.

When they reach the center of the camp, the shinobi there stop talking. Everyone looks at the pair they make, respect in their set jaw and determined eyes. Sakura braces herself and swallows her self-hatred to smile at the soldiers. She drops Shikamaru's hand and stops by a wounded kunoichi to patch her up. Shikamaru kneels next to a chūnin he barely knows and asks about his comrades. Slowly, the camp starts to live again, with a new spark in their eyes.

Sakura and Shikamaru go on, healing, talking, torturing and ordering. They do their duty and they die a little bit more on the inside. They have a war to win.

 


End file.
